An Athlete’s Worst Nightmare

Megan KrullComposition IAmy JurrensFebruary 25, 2016An Athlete’s Worst NightmareImagine you are going along playing the sport you love, when all of a sudden you hear a pop, your knee gives out, and you are on the ground in pain. This is what happened to me not once, but twice. After going to the doctor both times, they figured out I tore my ACL. The ACL is like a rubber band that holds your knee together enabling you to bend, jump, cut, and run. Without it, your knee could give out at any given time. The first time I experienced it, I was playing soccer in P.E. The second time I was playing volleyball. I had to have knee reconstruction surgery after both. The second time I had the reconstruction surgery plus fixing my meniscus. Tearing an ACL is a very vigorous process. Following surgery, I had to endure 6-8 strenuous months of physical therapy followed by athletic training, which is just another therapy but aimed to get you back to sports. Tearing my ACL has affected me positively and negatively by changing my athletic career, my school year, and my character. There were not any clear causes to tearing my ACL. There could have been very many causes. The first time while playing soccer, I was going to kick the soccer ball on a quick decision. I kicked with my knee bent in. I learned a lot about proper form when playing sports. One of the most important one is that you need to have your knees out. Your ACL is safest when your knee is bent. Another factor that could have caused my ACL tear is that I possibly could have smaller knee tunnels (your ACL runs through them) than the average person. The second time I tore my ACL I was playing volleyball. I was going to quick move a ball out of the way so no one else would get hurt. After I tore my first one, I was told that I had a 30% chance of tearing my other ACL because the other one would be a lot stronger than the other. By chance, I was in that thirtieth percentile. When I was…